All About Japan Autos

In February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it was investigating a steering-related issue in the 2009 to 2010 Toyota Corolla and Matrix that could affect 749,685 models. Yesterday, however, the Detroit Free Press broke news that Toyota does not want to recall the models because it doesn’t believe that the issue is a safety concern. Instead, it wants to offer free repairs to complainers.

According to Autoblog: “NHTSA reportedly launched the investigation after 168 reports that Corolla and Matrix electric power steering units were prone to drifting or locking up, with the problem most notable when cruising at highway speeds.”

While Toyota disputes the claim that this is a safety issue, it is still offering fixes to drivers that demand it. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons told the Detroit Free Press, “We see this as a customer-satisfaction issue.”

USA Today reports: “On June 3, Toyota issued a bulletin to dealers telling them to address complaints by checking the tire pressure and alignment. If that was insufficient, the bulletin told dealers they could replace the computer that governs the electric power steering with a unit Toyota said had been ‘re-tuned’ with an ‘alternative steering feel.’”

Clearly, Toyota is doing everything it can to avoid another recall. “If allowed by federal regulators, the move would save Toyota from adding to its total of 8.5 million vehicles recalled worldwide this year, most because of defects tied to sudden acceleration,” writes the Detroit Free Press. “But Toyota also would avoid the legal requirements of a safety recall, such as notifying all affected owners and updating regulators on how many repairs had been made.” Earlier this year, Toyota was made to pay $16.4 million in fines for delaying recalls related to cases of sudden acceleration in some of its best selling vehicles.

While there’s no word yet on what the NHTSA plans to do, we’ll stay on top of this story — so be sure to check back for updates.

If you’re in the market for a new car, check out the U.S. News rankings of this year’s best cars as well as this month’s best car deals.